Classic Klipsch speakers are dinosaurs. They're big and held a significant place for a long time. Back when 5 wpc was all you had, you put up with size and lack of deep bass to get high spls. Their sound complimented the tubes of the day. But like the dinosaurs their day has past.

The company lost it's marketing way, not enough tube dealers to support their modern offerings. So sadly they focused on the mainstream where frankly they really don't offer anything special.

I could see your buddy getting rid of the quads for the k-horns. but me, i'd have kept the hartley subs!

He kept the Hartley subs and used them with a pair of Apogee Divas. When he brought over a date to his house and her eyes popped out, with mouth ajar, at this audio madness dominating his living room, he politely stated he was an audio enthusiast. It was their first and last date.

i was extremely unimpressed w/the sound i heard in the classic audio room. marginally better room, ruined by having two pairs of speakers in it, w/the smaller speakers blocking the sound of the larger pair. i wanted to like the sound; the owner was wery nice... but even if the volti's were twice the price of the big classic's instead of the other way around, i would still be wanting the volti's...

doug s.

The arrangement was ...uhh, sub-optimal... Not enough room for two big floorstanders... Not having heard the Voltis I don't have a reference point. But the Classics were better IMO than the $44K horns (sorry, forget the name) I heard upstairs.

[quotei could see your buddy getting rid of the quads for the k-horns. but me, i'd have kept the hartley subs! ]

He kept the Hartley subs and used them with some Apogee Divas. When he brought over a date to his house and her eyes popped out wit mouth ajar at this audio madness dominating his living room, he politely stated he was an audio enthusiast. It was their first and last date.

Rocket_Ronny

lucky for him. who needs someone like that around? that's a good way to weed out the undesirables!

Jeez, I hate to spoil the mostly Klipsh bashing party but the fact is that the newest Klipsch speakers are not awful sounding, don't require much power, take plenty of power and play at high volumes with low distortion. Perfect for what represents about 95 percent of my AV business and I know a lot of so called high end speaker makers that could learn some very basic lessons from Klipsch. By the way, all of the Heritage series, the RF7ii's, RC 64ii's and KW 120 subs are all now made in the US. if they survive, the Palladian series, will also once again be made in the US. Something else other manufacturers can learn from.

The arrangement was ...uhh, sub-optimal... Not enough room for two big floorstanders... Not having heard the Voltis I don't have a reference point. But the Classics were better IMO than the $44K horns (sorry, forget the name) I heard upstairs.

sub-optimal set-up for sure:

re: the ones you didn't like, are you talking about the field coil drivers in the big oris-style horns, w/the ob bass panels? (not sure of their cost):i thought these sounded wery nice; better than the classics. these also were not set up properly, imo - the room was too small - but they still sounded good to me.

the cathedrals were speakers that truly sounded screwed up in the room they were in:

I have several friends that work for Klipsch and for good reason they were nervous after the audiovox purchase. Now it has been a while since the purchase and everyone is really happy with the way audiovox treats Klipsch. They have brought manufacturing jobs back to Hope, AR from China. That is really great news for a rural country town like Hope,AR. The previous owner was more of a bean counter and not an audio engineer. He diversified the company and did a very good job at making it very profitable likely saving the company. It will be interesting to see what happens in the upcoming years. A hint is in recently approved patents. Klipsch will be around for a while.

Klipsch changes speaker line ups often. It isn't unusual for them to discontinue speakers. In 2006 they revamped the Heritage line dropping the Belle but brought back the Cornwall with some improvements. Not my favorite but a big seller. Their sales of speakers to Europe and Asia have been on the rise. The RF2, Heresy, and Cornwall are very popular there. Things change but lately it has been for the best.

If you aren't into the consumer speakers from Klipsch check out the pro cinema speakers. There is really cool stuff in there and the specs are conservative. They measure lower specd. The Jubilee bass horn is just incredible. Personally I like the big horns for obvious reasons. Small speakers are for small sound.

re: the ones you didn't like, are you talking about the field coil drivers in the big oris-style horns, w/the ob bass panels? (not sure of their cost):i thought these sounded wery nice; better than the classics. these also were not set up properly, imo - the room was too small - but they still sounded good to me.

doug s.

Not those... I heard these from down the hall, they were blasting them on the last day.

Stop the presses- didn't think I had a pic from the room but I was talking about but turns out I do. It wasn't that I didn't like them; I just wasn't hi-dollar impressed. Even with his funky setup (maybe he should have brought only one pair, probably the smaller ones), the classics sounded better imo.For $44K I expect to be wowed. Forget the name but I recall hearing that that was the price. Here they are:

I have several friends that work for Klipsch and for good reason they were nervous after the audiovox purchase. Now it has been a while since the purchase and everyone is really happy with the way audiovox treats Klipsch. They have brought manufacturing jobs back to Hope, AR from China. That is really great news for a rural country town like Hope,AR. The previous owner was more of a bean counter and not an audio engineer. He diversified the company and did a very good job at making it very profitable likely saving the company. It will be interesting to see what happens in the upcoming years. A hint is in recently approved patents. Klipsch will be around for a while.

Klipsch changes speaker line ups often. It isn't unusual for them to discontinue speakers. In 2006 they revamped the Heritage line dropping the Belle but brought back the Cornwall with some improvements. Not my favorite but a big seller. Their sales of speakers to Europe and Asia have been on the rise. The RF2, Heresy, and Cornwall are very popular there. Things change but lately it has been for the best.

If you aren't into the consumer speakers from Klipsch check out the pro cinema speakers. There is really cool stuff in there and the specs are conservative. They measure lower specd. The Jubilee bass horn is just incredible. Personally I like the big horns for obvious reasons. Small speakers are for small sound.

Looks like the prediction turned out to be (thankfully) false.I actually met Paul Klipsch when a buddy of mine and I went on an informal factory tour in the early 90's. He invited us to lunch with him at the Hope, Arkansas Rotary Club and then to his house to listen to his personal system afterwards. He had a pair of Khorns and a LaScala as a center channel. At the time I had never seen a center channel. I wasn't enough of an audiophile at the time to observe the source components with a critical eye. He had (I think) Aragon amplification. He told us that his musical tastes were exclusively classical. The sound was lovely. I remember he had a Mercedes with a vanity plate that read "Gadfly" Looking forward to auditioning one or both of these-still have a pair of the original Forte's in one of my systems. I plan to use them with an AVA Ultravalve which I purchased from a fellow AC'er and absolutely love.

My girlfriend's Dad had an order in for two K-horns. He will-called and took me along for muscle. Turned out he and Paul knew each other. We went into the office and ended up with a binder full of Paul's drawings and notes. The system in the drawings had a Belle center.

The recently released Forte III is a sweet update of that classic model. They now include titanium diaphragms stock. If I ever find a pair I can afford, KHorns will be in the corners of my room. After taking time to get a good set up with my Quartets, the planars and ribbons I've had for years were shipped off. The sound is sublime, with a vibrant live sound that is really engaging. No tubes needed, a class A amp with a low gain Pre and it's a remarkable sound.

Next up a center channel from Klipsch, i suspect no one will ever ask again, "What did they say?"

The new active line just introduced is getting good press. The upcoming 15's have me wanting a listen-

Even if they keep the Klipsch name it will meet the same fate as Pyle driver, Aragon, Infinity, AR, you name it. It will disappear or become a schlock sucker brand.

I, and everyone else was dead wrong. Since that time the new Heritage line- Heresy III, Cornwall III and Forte III have been very successful. I think they have also increased their HT market share. The reference lines are very nice. The new RF7 III is soon to appear.

Interesting article. Yes, sure they will play crazy loud with great dynamics and that is why he seemed to like them. But the three times I heard them, twice in audio stores, and once at a hall party, the bass section sounding like a reverberating gymnasium. Too funny, he got the speakers from Echo Audio. Perfect description.

A friend owned K-Horns and they seemed better. He was putting plumbers putty on the outside of the horns to dampen them and was planning on lining the echo bass box with lead sheets. I don't think he ever did as he went back to his Levinson HQDs. I would use a tube amp either way, K-Horn, or Lascala.